


In Control

by AnAceInOuterSpace, petitminouu



Category: In Control - Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Angst, Depression, F/F, F/M, Ghosts, Hurt/Comfort, IM SHOOK, Other, Self-Harm, Swearing, Trans Character, Violence, Vomiting, beware the cursed mac and cheese scene in ch 7 bc it literally took us at least a year to finish, help us plz, pining dopes, please keep away if that doesnt sit right with you, theres a lot of swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 02:46:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15185024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnAceInOuterSpace/pseuds/AnAceInOuterSpace, https://archiveofourown.org/users/petitminouu/pseuds/petitminouu
Summary: Look, I intended for this book to be just for shits and giggles, but my friend and I ended up typing more chapters of it. So here we are, killing ourselves writing it. I don't know the plot. My friend doesn't know the plot. Nobody knows the plot.AKA a weird story about a gal who has mental problems and goes to another dimension, so her ghost/insecurity fighting friend has to save her from herself. meanwhile, there are multiple dilemmas occurring when more bois are introduced.





	1. Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just going to post chapters as we type them so idk the schedule

It started with whispers. Only murmurs on the wind that floated past her ears. Then they evolved. They turned harmful. They turned self-deprecating. They transformed for the worse and went downhill into the very deepest reaches of hell. Ciel had gone to a doctor, and had gotten prescribed medication to help, but they only seemed to make things worse. She developed indescribable urges. She started to see changes in herself that only happened in movies or books. She grew more violent and closed up. Her teeth grew sharper. She saw ghosts of her true self. Ciel now often locks herself in her room, with her mirrors flipped so she couldn't see her reflection. The voices seemed to ricochet off the walls. Every time they reached Ciel's ears, they were magnified, as if speaking through a megaphone. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore. Slamming open her bedroom door, she stormed into the nearest bathroom, which was fortunately right next to her bedroom.

Ciel was a mess. She hadn't brushed her hair in about 2 weeks, and her stressful yanking on it hadn't helped it one bit. On top of that, her face was all blotchy, red, and grimy from crying. Her knuckles were bruised and trails of dried blood were apparent from punching the walls. Her voice was hoarse from her futile screaming at the voices to stop. Her phone was dead, had been dead for ages, and she didn't want to ruin the blissfulness of not knowing what day or what time it is. She had only succumbed to sleep 5 times within those 2 weeks. To make a long story short, everything ached and the voices were getting even louder, but one specific voice was the loudest. It sounded similar to hers in the current condition, but a semitone or two deeper. Her eyes flickered between her reflection and the ghost beside it. She stared at the ghost in the mirror and it smiled back at her. She couldn’t take it anymore. She wanted to blame everything on that ghost. Before her mind cleared and her impulsivity disappeared, she punched the mirror. The ghost flickered out of sight, still smiling that same addictive, haunting smile. Ciel let loose a guttural scream as a horrible pain filled her head. She slammed the bathroom door shut. She glanced at the mirror again. That fucking ghost was back.

“Welcome to insanity, poor Ciel,” the ghost spat at her in disgust. Ciel pounded the bathroom counter. Her knees threatened to buckle and she desperately grabbed at anything on the counter that was anchored somewhere, anywhere. Her hand missed everything on the counter. She could hear the ghost cackling as she lay there, shaking and shivering as she plummeted into unconsciousness.


	2. Unnamed Concept

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we are boys. It's only the second chapter, and I regret posting it on here.

Jonas hadn’t been able to contact Ciel in weeks. He was starting to get worried about his friend, and finally he decided that he would pay her a visit. He quickly put on his favorite worn black leather jacket, and hustled out into the crisp autumn air. As the people in the city bustled about, each busy and with separate destinations, there was something else present. This ‘thing’ wasn’t a physical object, it was more like a concept, and only those that could truly understand it could see it as a whole. One of these rare people that could understand this aspect was Jonas, and he could see a crowd of blurred figures racing after their owners, spouting words that only could be heard to those who deemed it true. Some of these people had more figures than others. You could consider them the ones who had a mental illness, like depression, anxiety or PTSD. 

Jonas looked solemnly at a serious-faced woman striding down the street while being taunted by a horde of figures, using sharp words as daggers. These things don’t really have an actual word to name them, as they are more like one’s darkest consciousness brought into reality, where they take a form and somewhat grow their own mind, as they can’t be controlled anymore. Jonas muttered something under his breath, and graceful silvery creatures escaped from his chest, roughly where his heart would be located. The wisps encircled the ghosts who were torturing the woman, and lunged at a few, as if attacking them. Both the wisp and the ghosts disappeared with a puff, leaving the woman with a few less ghosts. Jonas’s mouth twitched into a smile, and he continued on his way. 

To those who could not understand the aspect, Jonas was seeing what any normal person would see. They did not see any mystical silvery creature, nor did they see the figures that followed humans. The air was cool on that fall evening, pleasant as well. Jonas had reached the more rundown part of town, the part where Ciel lived. After a few more minutes of quietly walking, Jonas reached the dilapidated apartment building. He knocked lightly and entered. Compared to the outside of the building, the lobby was luxurious. Yes, it wasn’t the best, but it worked. He waved to the receptionist and strolled over to the elevators, pressing the button to the 7th floor. The doors dinged open. The wallpaper was peeling off the wall, sort of like it would in a horror movie. But it’s not a horror movie, Jonas thought. Well, it isn’t a horror movie yet. 

Jonas's mind wandered as he traipsed through the halls. It wasn’t that he was scared to go see Ciel, it’s just that he forgot how many figures were locked in the halls, forbidden from entering their owners room, leaving the humans in a peaceful, almost blissful, state. Jonas spotted an open door, and looked at the apartment number. Room 781, a sign near the apartment read. Ciel’s room. He was slightly worried, for there were no figures lingering obediently outside the stained door. Jonas softly knocked on the door, even though he didn’t necessarily expect a response. A weak ‘come in’ could be heard from beyond the door. Jonas pushed the door open and it creaked loudly. He looked around, confused on where the voice had come from, though it was definitely Ciel’s. He weaved around the maze of gathering objects, whether it be useful or plain junk, Jonas didn’t know, and didn’t feel it fit for him to be the one sorting it. The young man continued to search around the seemingly abandoned room, until he came upon the bathroom. A crumpled figure could barely be seen behind the ajar door, but with closer inspection, Jonas made out a somewhat feminine figure. 

“Ciel? Is that you?” Jonas politely waited behind the door, knowing very well that his friend was fragile and might not want him barging in just yet. He heard her grunt in acknowledgement. He slowly opened the door, gently stepping inside. His vision was instantly swarmed with ghosts. He could barely see through the onslaught of demons. After a moment, Jonas was able to locate Ciel, and began to make his way to her. The bathroom was a complete mess. All the contents of the cupboards was scattered across the floor. Towels and toilet paper had been strewn across the room. The mirror was shattered. In the middle of it all, Ciel sat hunched over, favoring her bleeding hands. Jonas could tell that although she was awake, she wasn’t really present. 

“Ciel?” Jonas asked softly, kneeling next to her. Her eyes continued to stare blankly ahead, and her small frame shook. Jonas tenderly brushed a lock of raven hair off Ciel’s face. “Let’s get you bandaged up.” Jonas glanced across the floor, through the crowd of ghosts. He found a first aid kit under a towel, and reached for it. The ghosts whispered angrily at him, and he shooed them away. Now, most of the ghosts had decided to leave. Turning his attention back to Ciel, Jonas began to clean and bandage her wounds. “What did you do this time, Ciel?” Jonas silently wondered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I still don't know the schedule, I don't know if I ever will.


	3. Trembling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look, I forgot which chapter these started getting longer, so just bare with me here.

The black slowly faded into a weird distortion of reality. Ciel could barely make out her bathroom floor. She heard distant murmerings from ghosts. The voices seemed somewhat bearable now compared to how they were a while ago. Ciel made out a knock through all of the angry voices. All she could manage to get out was a weak “Come in,”. A door opened and someone’s footsteps could barely be heard. Her hands were trembling madly and her breathing was shallow. She thought of trying to stand up, but thought better of it. She attempted to sit up, and did it somewhat successfully. A silhouette stood behind the door and Ciel found it quite familiar. 

“Ciel, is that you?” the silhouette questioned. She tried to speak but nothing happened. Her vocal chords have finally given up. She grunted, for that was all she could do at a normal volume. The silhouette approached slowly and the ghost trailed behind him. The ghost smiled ravenously and dragged it’s transparent finger across it’s severely mangled neck. The silhouette kneeled in front of Ciel. She could almost make out what it said. It reached out and brushed Ciel’s raven hair away from her face. The ghost slowly approached and Ciel’s trembling increased. The ghost’s smile somehow got larger and more sharp, blood stained teeth were revealed. Ciel’s eyes widened and she would have screamed if she could. The silhouette turned to grab an object that was hiding under one of the many towels strewn about the floor. 

Time seemed to slow down as the ghost quickly advanced, although it seemed unaffected by the currents of time. Something seemed to shift inside of Ciel and it left her feeling empty, like a shell of her former self. Ciel’s vision faded to black once again. Her physical body fell limp. She was in a different dimension. Or at least it felt like a different dimension. She felt unusually lighter. The dimension was hard to describe. It was like Ciel was in space. Twinkles of light floated past her like snow and there were no voices. The silence was almost blissful. Her footsteps echoed throughout wherever this was. There was no smell and her mouth was dry. She tried to speak, but her vocal chords made no sound.   
She looked down at herself. She found herself to be like the ghosts, transparent and severely mangled. Bandages covered both of her forearms and hands. Only the tips of her fingers were not covered by bandages. A sudden wave of tiredness crashed over her. She fell to the ground and faded into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't know the schedule. Also, we sorta gave up on this one.


	4. Retrieval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is going to be better i promise.

As Jonas finished bandaging Ciel’s hand, he saw a transparent figure lunge toward the girl. His eyes widened, and he cursed. Ciel’s eyes rolled back as she slumped forward, as if someone had pressed an “off” button on her. She fell into Jonas’s arms. Suddenly, her body began to tremble, and a keening noise escaped her mouth. Jonas gently picked her up, and carried her out of the bathroom.

The apartment was small, barely big enough for one person. Jonas continued to carry Ciel to the bedroom. He grimaced a bit, looking around. The room wasn’t in much better shape than the bathroom. Gently setting Ciel down, Jonas sat back in a chair that he had pulled up to the bedside. He sighed. What have you gotten yourself into, Ciel? Jonas thought morosely.   
With another look at Ciel, Jonas sighed, closing his emerald green eyes. A silvery projection of Jonas slithered out of his chest. Looking back on himself, he saw his physical body slump sideways, perched precariously on the chair. Jonas turned to face Ciel, braced himself, then shot forward, entering Ciel’s mind. There was a moment of absolute nothing, a black void one encounters while entering someone else’s mind. Then, Jonas found what he was looking for. An artificial dimension, of complete peace. Jonas could see Ciel’s silhouette further ahead, gazing around in awe.   
Shit, Jonas swore to himself. They only use Keunix before they take their victims to… Jonas broke off his train of thought. He needed to complete his objective. He rolled up his left jacket sleeve to reveal a tattoo of a lion. After he traced the glittering outline with his finger, a translucent lion, tipped with gold, protruded from the tattoo. The lion crashed into Ciel, and turned into wisps of gold. The wisps floated back onto the tattoo, just as Ciel simultaneously passed out and crumpled over. Jonas pocketed the array. Then, he was forced out of Ciel’s mind-dimension. 

Jonas opened his eyes to a groan. Ciel sat up, rubbing her head. Suppressing minor nausea, Jonas stood up on shaky legs. He tried to ignore some rising panic. Although Jonas had done this hundreds of times before, something felt… Off. He shrugged away the uncertainty.   
“Ciel, how are you feeling?” Jonas asked.  
“I feel like shit to be completely honest,” Ciel grumbled.   
“When was the last time you ate, Ciel?” Jonas asked, extending a hand to help Ciel up. She shrugged, grasping Jonas's hand tightly and pulling herself out of bed.  
“I found a new cafe. I think we should go. I’ll meet you in the lobby in 15 minutes. Please try to come.” With that, Jonas left the room.


	5. Ice Water and Fruit Tarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> look yall, shit kicks off here

Ciel wobbled towards the door of her apartment, but not before grabbing a large sweatshirt and pulling it on. Her skeletal frame didn’t fill out the sweatshirt at all. She snagged her keys off of her desk. Ciel opened the door, leaning on the frame for a while. Jonas was nowhere to be seen. She slowly started down the hallway, shutting her door before she left. Her hands were resting in her sweatshirt pocket. Ciel rubbed her fingers together to distract herself from the peeling wallpaper and the old carpet. Soon enough, she was at the elevators pressing the button to call the elevator. Ciel shuffled into the elevator, pressing the lobby button. The elevator doors closed, and it shuddered then started moving down. She drummed her fingers on the back of the elevator. It slowed to a stop and the doors opened to reveal the nearly empty lobby. Ciel spotted Jonas sitting in a cheap leather chair in a corner. Jonas was reading something intently on his phone. Ciel walked over to him, gently kicking him in the shins to get him acknowledge her. 

“Hey fuckface,” Ciel says jokingly. “I’m here, let’s go,” Her hands were still residing in her sweatshirt. Jonas jumped a bit, as if startled, turning to Ciel. “Ah, right.”  
He quickly pocketed his phone, starting to head off. The pair made their way through the bustling city, coming to a less crowded area near a small river. A small restaurant became visible, with a delicately decorated patio overlooking the river. Fancy lanterns hung ahead, and the two made their way into the building.

“Seat for two?” Jonas politely asked the waitress.

“Uh, is outside seating okay for you? We don’t have any available spots indoors.” The woman said sheepishly. Jonas glanced at Ciel for confirmation. She shrugged, not really paying attention. Jonas turned back to the waiter, nodding.

“Come this way, then.” The woman led the two outside, seating them at a pleasant, secluded area. There were only a couple other people there. 

“We’ll get you served soon,” The lady said, passing out menus. Jonas thanked her, then started flipping through the menu. Ciel hesitantly picks up the menu and stares at the pages nervously. She put the menu down only seconds later, lowering her head. She took a sideways glance at Jonas, finding him intrigued in the menu. 

“Ciel, what have you been up to lately?” Jonas questioned, not breaking his gaze on the menu. Ciel doesn’t speak, keeping her eyes trained on the closed menu in front of her. She taps her foot nervously. Her fingers subconsciously start fiddling with each other on top of the table. Jonas shifted his gaze up to Ciel. 

“Uh, hello? Ciel?”Jonas waved a hand in front of Ciel’s line of sight. Suddenly, the chair slid out from under Jonas. With a startled yelp, he fell forward onto the table. His hand grasped onto Ciel’s.  
Ciel spluttered in surprise and her heartbeat sped up to a rapid pace. She tried to keep up her facade by pulling Jonas's hand forcefully, which did nothing but make the situation worse. Jonas stiffened as he felt Ciel tug on his hand. He quickly untangled their hands and sat back, a blush rising on his cheeks. He looked at Ciel, their eyes meeting briefly. Then, Jonas started to laugh. Ciel quirked her eyebrow, but stifled a laugh of her own. Jonas stopped to catch his breath, twinkling eyes once again catching Ciel’s. A lopsided grin continued to cover his face, a lingering rosy tint on his freckled cheeks. 

The waitress chose this moment to come back. Ciel sighed, the moment ruined. _What do you mean, ‘moment’? He literally just fell onto you. That doesn’t mean he wants to kiss you, you little bitch._ A smirking ghost hovered by Ciel’s ear, making any lasting happiness promptly fade. Then, the demons were back. Ciel was hyper-aware of the mass of the ghosts, scattered around the room. She could faintly hear someone talking, and was vaguely aware of a comforting figure sitting across from her. Wait, comforting? Ciel was confused. She was snapped into the present by someone calling her name.

“Ciel?” Jonas said again. The dazed expression told him that she hadn’t heard. “What do you want to eat?” Ciel glanced around nervously.

“Uh, I’ll just have an ice water,” she muttered. The waitress nodded, obviously still waiting for a food item. Panic was clearly written on Ciel’s face, she stuttered out of habit and ordered the first thing that came to her mind. 

“I’ll have the fruit tart, please!” Ciel carded her hand through her short hair and had to tell herself over and over again to not pull on it. The waitress jotted something down on a notepad, smiling. “Coming right up! I’ll be right back.”

Jonas waited until the woman had left before talking to Ciel again.

“Are you sure that everything is okay, Ciel?” The serious expression Jonas wore portrayed how concerned he was. Ciel nodded in response to his question a little too quickly to be inconspicuous, but Jonas decided to ignore it for now. She’s probably just on edge, Jonas thought, remembering the current amount of ghosts that were present. Silence enveloped the two, and they absently looked at the starry sky dotted with city lights.

“Here ya are!” The peppy voice brought them both back into the present. Coffee and a sandwich was laid before Jonas, ice water and tart before Ciel. Although Jonas began to eat, Ciel sat still, staring down her tart. She lost track of time, and eventually, Jonas had finished his sandwich. He looked from Ciel to her untouched food. Instantly, his previous doubts returned.

“Are you going to eat, Ciel?” Jonas tried not to sound accusatory. Ciel slowly reached for the fruit tart. She hesitantly brought it to her mouth and nibbled a bit off of it. Her stomach began to churn threateningly. Swallowing thickly, she took a small sip of her water.  
Jonas carefully watched Ciel. She smiled uneasily, sincerely hoping that that would be enough to quell Jonas's suspicions. Jonas went to take a sip of his coffee, continuing to watch Ciel over the rim of the cup. 

“You must be quite hungry. It seems as if you haven’t eaten for a couple days,” Jonas casually stated as he signed a check. He leaned back, carefully tracking Ciel’s reaction. She tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible, but her mind betrayed her, allowing her face able to express her emotions to the public. She stared intently at her feet, not able to make herself maintain eye contact with Jonas. 

“Well, it’s getting late. Shall we head back to your apartment?” Jonas questioned, beckoning over the waitress. He requested a takeout box, and handed her the check. After packaging the tart, Jonas stood up. He motioned for Ciel to join him, and he began to lead the way back to Ciel’s apartment.  
Damnit, she’s even worse off than I first anticipated. Jonas's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he fixed his glare straight ahead. Ciel stood up from the table and kept her gaze focused on the ground. She shuffled down the sidewalk, still a ways behind Jonas. She let her thoughts wander.  
Once they were inside the apartment, Jonas sat down at the small table, motioning for Ciel to sit in the other chair across from him. Jonas placed the tart on the small table, opening the box.

“Here, now you can finish it.” Jonas leaned back a bit, starting to remove his leather jacket. His muscular arms were revealed, and he hung the jacket on the back of the chair. Settling down, he turned back around to watch Ciel. She picked up the tart like she had done at the cafe. Ciel held it to her mouth, but didn’t go to eat it straight away. She glanced at Jonas nervously. She stared at the table and bit down on the fruit tart. As she forced the small bite down, her stomach began to revolt against her will. She could feel her hands start to tremble. Jonas continued to observe her, lounging back in his chair. _How the fuck can he be so calm about this?!_ Ciel thought anxiously to herself. Her breath caught in her throat, and Jonas’ eyes narrowed. _Shitshitshitshitshitshit._  
Her whole arm was shaking now. Ciel could feel the weight of Jonas’s piercing gaze slicing into her. Forcing herself to open her mouth, Ciel noticed for the first time she had broken out in a cold sweat. She took another small mouthful of the damned tart, the fruit tasting bland. As she swallowed, she could feel her stomach tighten.

“Does it taste good?” Jonas asked lightly. Ciel didn’t respond. She was trembling violently now. Swallowing thickly, she nibbled the fruit tart again, sincerely regretting that she agreed to go out. Her whole body was shaking and she couldn’t focus. Ciel slammed down the fruit tart, shaking the table. Jonas seemed slightly startled by this, but Ciel didn’t care. All she cared about was getting to the bathroom before throwing up all of her insides. She shakily stood up, and instantly regretted it. The room spun, and her legs shook. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jonas quickly standing up. 

“Ciel, what’s happening?” Jonas grabbed a hold of her arm, steadying her. 

“It doesn’t matter what’s fucking happening, just get me to the goddamn bathroom,” Ciel felt bile rising in her throat, and her breathing picked up to the point where she was hyperventilating.

“Well, I’m not going to do shit about this unless you tell me what the hell is going on here!” Ciel’s eyes widened, and her breathing speed increased. In all the time she had known Jonas, she had only heard him yell four times. She felt like a weight was crushing her. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t speak.

Wait. She couldn’t breathe. Ciel realized that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get in a full inhale. At this same time, the nausea decided to strike. She gagged, doubling over a bit.  
“Woah, hey, calm down.” Jonas wrapped an arm around Ciel’s waist to support her. She clapped a hand over her mouth and stumbled toward the bathroom. Jonas ran after her, clearing a spot on the floor in front of the toilet. Ciel dropped to her knees, retching. Between her gagging and sharp, fast inhales, Ciel wasn’t getting enough air, and the room was too hot and small and—

“Relax, Ciel.” Jonas’s voice was soft, and he placed his hand on Ciel’s back. She gasped softly before gagging again, tears coming to her eyes. Jonas could tell she was fighting the urge to vomit. Tears spilled down her cheeks as a strangled noise escaped the back of her throat. She was losing the battle with her stomach and they both knew it. 

“Please, Ciel. I’m right here, and I’ll help you. Now just relax.” _Relax? How? I’m here, bent over a toilet, this close to barfing my fucking brains out, and you’re telling me to relax? What sort of bullshit is that?_ But Ciel was extremely tired. However, she wasn’t going to succumb to instincts just yet. 

“I’m only going to warn you once. If you don’t let yourself vomit, I will force you to eat the rest of the tart.” At the mention of food, Ciel’s stomach finally won. She leaned over the toilet and retched wetly before bringing up a mouthful of bile. Jonas rubbed circles into her back as she continued to heave. After what seemed like hours of vomiting, Ciel finally slumped back. Jonas caught her, cradling her small frame in his lap. Ciel lay, completely limp, trying to focus on breathing properly. In the back of her mind, she could hear the ghosts murmuring angrily at her, but she was too spent to care. Feeling the comfort of Jonas’s heat at her back, she let her eyes drift shut.


	6. Of Ghost Files and Strangers at Cafes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> look, i know i'm posting these way too fast to be healthy but i dont care

Jonas closed the door to his condominium. He sighed deeply, tossing his keys at a table near the entrance as he shrugged off his leather jacket. He made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of juice. Sipping his juice, he walked into the living room and plopped down onto the couch.   
“Who’s next?” he muttered to himself, replacing a file on the coffee table with his glass of juice. He fingered through pictures of depressed-looking people, as well as his own notes, until he came upon a picture of Ciel. He grabbed a pen, and he jotted a quick note upon the back of the photo, where he recorded symptoms. _Anorexia, emetophobia, taken to Keunix._ Jonas paused for a moment, then added another pair of words. Watch closely.  
Jonas returned Ciel’s photo to the file, and flipped through some more pictures. He moved some of the pictures into a file labeled “Finished”, and he wrote some more notes on various photographs. Setting down a picture of a boy, he sat back and pinched the bridge of his nose. _Dear God, I’m in a lot deeper than I thought, aren’t I?_ He cracked open his eyes and peered at the table in front of him- it was cluttered with an abundance of paper and photographs, files, and assorted other junk.   
Jonas closed his eyes again, feeling the beginning of a headache creeping up on him. He thought about the people in the files. All of them had some type of mental disorder, due to the demons that haunted them. There were just.. too many people, and not enough time for Jonas to help them all. He made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat, his hand weaving into his hair, pushing it out of his eyes. Jonas felt way too overwhelmed. He wanted to cry, but he was just so tired. So Jonas slumped back into the couch, and fell asleep.

When Jonas awoke the next morning, he felt infinitely worse. His blossoming headache from yesterday had bloomed into a migraine, which hit him with full force. God, what he wouldn’t do for coffee right now. Jonas reluctantly rolled off the couch, and set off for a fresh shirt. After that, he snatched his keys and jacket and was out the door.   
It didn’t take him long to get to the small breakfast diner that he was accustomed to visiting in the morning. Trudging into the diner, Jonas felt a bit off. No, it wasn’t just the migraine, at least he didn’t think so, it was something else. Someone else. A different type of presence in the diner made Jonas’s instincts prickle, but he had no idea why. After he was seated, he found out.   
On his wrist, the tattoo of the lion’s array started to pulse, as if drawn to something behind him. Like two magnets drawn together, Jonas quickly looked on the other side of the booth to find a wide-eyed girl. She had extremely long, straight black hair, pale skin, and navy blue eyes that seemed to glitter in the morning sunlight. When she spoke, her voice was deep and smooth, a rich baritone sound that stunned Jonas.   
“Ghosts?” That one word, paired with the meeting of their eyes, explained everything Jonas needed to know. In that moment, the two staring in complete awe of the other, Jonas could even forget about his mind-splitting headache. Tears began to well up in the girl’s eyes, and Jonas held open his arms. She got up and ran into his embrace, crying tears of joy on his shoulder. Jonas could feel some tears of his own slide down his cheeks.   
“I’ve been waiting to find you my whole life,” Jonas finally managed to whisper. The girl laughed, cupping Jonas’s cheek with her hand. “Me, too.”  
The two eventually pulled out of their embrace and went to sit at the booth.   
“I should probably introduce myself. I’m Jonas Kane.” He extended his hand, and the girl took it, her grasp firm. “Raven Adams.”  
“So, what kind of things have you been up to lately?” Jonas asked after ordering a cup of well-needed black coffee. Raven seemed to think thoughtfully for a moment before answering.  
“Abolishing ghosts, pulling all-nighters, y’know,” Raven sighed, taking a swig of milk. Jonas chuckled. It was like she had a split personality.   
“Heh, I feel you. Uh.. do you, by chance, know any others like us?” Jonas was grateful when his coffee came out, and he took a sip.   
“I mean, if there’s us, then there has to be others, right?” Raven looked unsure of the last part of her question, but didn’t add anything. Jonas’s eyebrow furrowed a bit, his eyes turning to gaze thoughtfully out the window. His thoughts slowly drifted to Ciel, and his face shifted into a frown.   
“Do you use your powers to help people?” Jonas asked slowly.   
“Well, duh! Who do you think I am, a self-absorbed prick?!” Raven rolled her eyes, taking a bite of a muffin. _Wait, why am I thinking of Ciel eating that fruit tart?_ Jonas’s mood darkened a bit as he thought of last night. He shook his head a bit, as if to rid of the thought.   
“I have to get going, but we should keep in touch. Can I get your phone number?” Raven set her phone on the table, ready to type in Jonas’s contact info. He hastily entered it, downing the rest of his coffee. He slapped a five dollar bill onto the table, standing up.   
“See you around, Raven.” Jonas was already out the door before she could respond.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Any feedback or comments are well appreciated!  
> -Robyn & Petit


End file.
